


the whole world could stop

by chaoticism



Series: Bless The Gays! [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/F, Gay Jennifer Hayes, Gay Will Byers, Gay solidarity, M/M, will and jenny are alright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 06:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13851594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticism/pseuds/chaoticism
Summary: Will Byers never knew how hard it would be to leave Hawkins, Indiana until he met Jennifer HayesIn which Will and Jenny are really gay, really sad, and they really love each other.





	the whole world could stop

**Author's Note:**

> for gayle

_ “You’re an amazing best friend, Will Byers.” _

 

That was the last thing Jennifer Hayes said to Will, and she meant it. Maybe if she would’ve known, there would have been more.

 

The night of graduation was a blur for Jennifer, honestly. After the ceremony, the one that lasted two hours longer than it was supposed to, most of her friends retreated to Sal’s, and from there they somehow ended up at Jennifer’s house, hyped up on whatever liquor she found. 

 

Ava was there. She looked beautiful, not that she didn’t always. Her hair was cut and styled gorgeously, but Jennifer expected nothing less from the best looking girl in their grade. 

 

Will and his friends were there too, she remembers that much. He nudged her a few times, told her to stop drooling. Will always did that; caught her before she outed herself to the entirety of Hawkins High. She returned the favor more than once when she caught him staring at Mike for a beat too long. 

 

It’s what they did for each other. 

 

It started in ninth grade when Jennifer moved back to Hawkins. She can’t remember why her parents decided to leave, but she was glad they came back to her favorite sleepy town. She preferred it over Derry any day. Will was the friendly face that greeted Jennifer on her first day back. 

 

The only friendly face. 

 

Over the course of their first year, they complained about Mrs. Princey’s work, Coach Davidson’s “workout routine”, and the lack of tater tots in the cafeteria. 

 

On a warm day in late April, Will told her about his crush on Mike Wheeler; she thought it was only fair she tell him about hers on Ava Hernandez. She remembers Will’s loud laughter and his quick explanation after seeing her confused expression. Ava asked Will to dance at the Snow Ball the year before. 

 

Jennifer started to laugh too. 

 

Sharing something like that really bonds you to someone. Jennifer doesn’t remember ever leaving Will’s side that summer. They went to the community pool, ogled over there respective crushes, went to the arcade a few times to try and best Max’s high scores. The pair even went as far as suggesting a sleepover, completely forgetting that a slumber party between a girl and a boy was unacceptable. 

 

Will, Jennifer found, really had a thing for Mike Wheeler, but she wasn’t surprised. The “ _ best friends to lovers”  _ trope was her favorite and the most common.

 

    Will hated when she said that. 

 

He knew every little detail about Mike Wheeler and Jennifer knew because he recounted them all to her on several different occasions; she didn’t mind, she did the same thing with Ava. 

 

They say this kind of solidarity—this kind of bond—can’t be broken, can’t be forgotten or overlooked. Jennifer thought that was true. They told each other everything, 

 

“ _ Jennifer _ ,” Hopper spoke in a tone she couldn’t decipher. She probably could have if her brain hadn’t shut down the minute she opened the door.

 

     Her hazel eyes flicked up to meet the tired ones of the Chief. The poor man’s eyes had been like that since Jennifer first met him. She wondered how many sleepless nights the man went through, what horrible things he’s seen. 

 

_ Not now, Jennifer. _

 

“Th-The last I saw him, he was with Mike. They walked out together while I was cleaning up.” She swallowed thickly. What could Will have gotten himself into? He was barely eighteen, he  _ just  _ graduated. 

 

“If he contacts you, I expect a call,” Hopper told her seriously and she nodded absentmindedly before shutting her door. 

 

_ How could he not have told me? Where the hell could he have gone? Why didn’t he talk to me about this? This has got to be a nightmare. _

 

It wasn’t. 

 

This was real. 

 

Her friend was gone. 

 

Jennifer didn’t notice she was crying until she felt herself sob. She didn’t know why she was doing it, crying didn’t feel appropriate for the time, but what  _ was _ the right reaction to finding out your friend was missing?

 

It could’ve been that she was overwhelmed. Will said she seemed to cry with things got a bit much, which left her angry. She thought it made her  _ weak; _ just a little bit of stress and Jennifer’s having a breakdown. 

 

Ridiculous. 

 

**___________**

  
  
  


It wasn’t until a few months later that Jennifer was finally told what happened. There was a phone call that came to the Hayes house the week before she left for Florida. 

 

It was Mike Wheeler.

 

Mike Wheeler, the boy who’d been missing for the same amount of time as Will Byers, yet no one reported him missing until the week after Will’s second disappearance. And Jennifer was confused, to say the least; she and Mike Wheeler only ever exchanged about thirty words in the six years they’d known each other.

 

So why call her? 

 

Easy, because he was with her best friend. 

 

He explained just about everything he could. The reason why they left, what happened that night, when he and Will got together, if he and Will were alright, where they were, and Jennifer could not have been more relieved. 

 

And then Mike handed Will the phone. 

 

Jennifer would be lying if she said she didn’t scream, if she said she didn’t cry, if she said she didn’t want to reach into the phone and slap Will Byers in the face. And I’m sure Will felt the same, but she was  _ so relieved  _ to know he was ok.

 

And after the yelling, and the sobbing, there was a calm conversation and a goodbye. Not their last, of course.  _ Just for now _ , they agreed. 

 

She finally got to say it. 

  
  
  



End file.
